Forever Young
by The Starry Puzzle
Summary: Andrea is just a 13 year old girl who takes her time in living and doesn't want to grow up until a very long time. When she is transported into the Twilight Zone though, she learns a terrible,painful secret that Andrea herself didn't ever know before...
1. Intro and Chapter 1

**Forever Young**

_**Intro**_

Andrea cycled up the sidewalk that lead up to her house. When she got her blue mountain bike up into her garage she jogged to her kitchen door and entered in through there. As soon as she entered in, she shouted out loud, "Mom, I am home! Anyone there?" There was no response in return. Andrea glanced at her watch. It was 5:30 pm, the time when both parents were at work. She shrugged and decided to go to the playroom and watch some T.V. Suddenly, Andrea heard a loud thud that seemed to be coming from her bedroom. She picked up the T.V. remote control and switched it off. Andrea hopped off the couch and ran up to her bedroom hoping that one of her cats didn't knock over anything heavy or breakable. When she got to her room, everything was normal. Except one thing. When Andrea turned to face the time on her bedroom clock on the wall next to her bed, it wasn't the same clock that was there before she went cycling round the neighborhood. At all. Instead, there stood a tall, huge, proud grandfather clock, which had the two colors of black and white in a round swirl that made her dizzy just by looking at it. Andrea went close to examine it; the grandfather clock's pendulum door suddenly swung open and sucked her into another world. 

_**You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but also of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead— your next stop, the Twilight Zone!**_

_**Chapter 1**_

Andrea eventually opened her eyes and found herself tied up in tight ropes on a wooden chair, right in the center of an empty and unfamiliar room, not being able to move a muscle. She glanced around with shifty eyes. The room was white with black stripes all over the bare walls and the floor. The only other thing in the room apart from the chair Andrea was tied down to, there was a grandfather clock that looked exactly like the one that was in her room before she got transported to this strange dimension. In fact, what if the same clock in Andrea's room previously transported itself with her, as they must have traveled through time or space, or even both?

As far as Andrea could see, there seemed to be no door leading into or out of this room. No, not true! There has to be a door there somewhere! Maybe it was just well camouflaged.

As the minutes (or maybe hours) ticked away on the grandfather clock, the minute hand moved at a pace where even a snail could move faster. Eventually, the grandfather clock gave a deafening noise when the minute hand was on the twelve, same place as the hour hand. It was midnight already? Or was it noon from the past or the future? Either way, Andrea still stared at the clock face, awed by how much time she might have been or spent traveling into this dimension room.

Andrea tilted her head from exhaustion and almost closed her eyes, just as she heard a silent, gradual creaking from somewhere. She looked up saw a piece of the wall opening itself open. That must have been the door to another room, another world…or another dimension.


	2. Chapter 2

**Forever Young**

_**Chapter 2**_

A tall man in a black and white pinstriped suit entered through the "door". He wore a black bowler hat. The man's dark brown eyes had a demonic, devious look in them, along with a sleazy smirk beneath his thin, dark moustache and a big aquiline nose.

With shiny, black, leather shoes, the man walked over to Andrea, still standing up tall and proud, with his thin, towering figure still straight as a ruler, just like he entered seconds before. The man walked behind Andrea, untied her from the chair and helped her up.

"So you must be wondering, Andrea-" the man began saying but Andrea cut him

off by shouting out in disbelief,

"Wait! How d'ya know my name?"

The man raised his one eyebrow and continued to smirk.

"Let's just say that I have known you ever since the day you were born," the man answered.

Andrea continued to look at the man in an aghast expression. Before she knew it, so many questions started to overflow her mind. But before she could ask any of them, the man raised his hand.

"You must have a whole lot of questions that you want to ask and I'll try my best to answer them. I'll start with introducing myself. My name is Earnest. I have been watching and observing you ever since you were born-"

Again, Andrea cut Earnest off by shouting out, "You mean, you were and are stalking me?"

Earnest gave a little chuckle. "Nah, I am not THAT bad. But I DO know a whole load about 'ya. So don't try any tricks to outsmart me."

"Where am I? What is this place?" Andrea jabbered and blurted out, who was now is a state of hysteria and panic.

Of course, Earnest just grinned but said nothing, giving Andrea the hint that the location place they were right now was not to be revealed.

Instead, Earnest replied, "Let's just say that you are in another dimension. Somewhere that nobody else in your family knows about."

Of course, this scared Andrea because not only did she not know where she was, but even worse, Earnest wasn't going to tell her. What if Andrea's parents were home and awake, wondering where the heck she was? What if…?

"Remember that dream you had last night? That long dream?" Earnest asked as he raised his eyebrows.

Andrea's eyes widened in astonishment.

"How did ya know that I had a long dream last night?" she asked.

"Because I have got your whole dream, right here," Earnest answered and grinned as he reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out and held up a video tape. Earnest then added, "Let's watch it shall we?"

Earnest then turned and ventured out the door, gesturing to Andrea to follow his lead. Andrea obeyed and did so. Andrea wondered if Earnest had her visualizations on video just like she had when she was dreaming. That dream was more of nightmare to Andrea. It was just a nightmare she had…right?


	3. Chapter 3

**Forever Young**

**Chapter 3**

As Earnest and Andrea walked down the bare hallway corridors, Andrea felt as if the bare walls had hidden ghosts between them and that they were watching her every move and reading her every thought. There were no paintings or windows on the walls along the narrow corridors and no doors that closed any rooms in or shutting anyone out. Just white, blinding walls were there with a black-and-white-tiled floor near them.

Andrea continued to follow Earnest along the endless, narrow corridor, making no conversation.

Eventually, Andrea and Earnest reached the dead end, where a black door stood there, closing people out of a room, where laid a huge conspiracy.

"Well, this is it," Earnest finally said as he reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a queer-looking key that looked like a question mark.

When Earnest unlocked and opened the door as he went in, Andrea hung back and stared. Unlike the other room that she had been to, and unlike the corridor she walked in with Earnest, this room was more colorful, with an orange background with black and white spirals scattered around the walls. There was a maroon, leather couch against the back wall near the door, and a big T.V. screen opposite the couch. Underneath was a stationary video-player that was stuck into the wall. Andrea sat on the couch as Earnest went and inserted the videotape underneath the screen. Suddenly, there was a hypnotizing, blinding black and white spiraled circle spinning and spinning non-stop until…

_Andrea got off the school bus when she got to school that morning. She still looked like she did in her 13-year-old self but only she was 17 now, taller and more broad chested. Other than that, Andrea still dressed in her sporty, loose t-shirts, baggy shorts and trousers and her sneakers. Her short dark-brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail to keep out of her slightly freckled face, like usual._

_She got her messenger schoolbag on her shoulder and ran to class, reaching her classroom just in the nick of time._

_She sat next to Mary and smiled as she said a friendly good morning, and Mary the same. Mary was one of the only girls in her class that was ever really nice to Andrea. The other girls were okay, but sometimes, some of the girls had snobby behavior and tried to boss Andrea around but they never managed to do that._

_Andrea took out her notebook and her pencil case as the teacher then came round with a A4 sized brown envelopes that each had each of the classmate's name on it. When Andrea received hers, she opened the envelope and saw that it was her Exam Grades Report card! Andrea smiled as she looked at the subjects where in some subjects, she got an **A **or a bit lower. Mary got pretty much the same grades. They smiled to each other and congratulated each other for a good report card. When recess came, Andrea and Mary went to find Celia so they can hang out._

"_Ohmigod, I can't believe that Summer Vacation is starting in a few days! I can't wait to go to the beach and get a gorgeous tan!" Mary exclaimed happily with excitement in her voice._

"_I on the other hand, am going to England. I wonder if I can get a super-cool Music CD collection from there," Celia said as she grinned her "top that!" smile._

_Andrea rolled her eyes. Friends were a bit on the girly side but she still liked them for their cool, friendly personalities._

_When Andrea finally finished school at the end of the day, she said goodbye to her friends and got on the school bus to go home._

_Years passed and when Andrea was grown-up, she dreamt that she became a volunteer in America and helped people in need, made friends from different countries and kept the childish and positive attitude that she always had._

_Years continued to fly pass until one day, when Andrea was in around her late 70's, she yawned and felt a little tired._

"**_I feel tired. I am going to bed and I am not gonna wake up," _**_Andrea thought to herself as she lied down and closed her eyes…_

At that moment, the tape stopped and was put on a pause. That must have been the time when Andrea awoke from her dream this morning. Andrea nodded as she told Earnest

"Yup, that was my dream. Good, yet bad."

Earnest looked confused.

"Why was the dream bad?" he in a puzzled tone that matched his expression.

Andrea shrugged as a sad look gradually began to spread across her face.

"I just don't want to grow up. Okay maybe I do, but just, not until a long time. That is why I always make sure to enjoy being who I am and I don't try to grow up too fast."

"I don't think you are growing up too fast. I think you are a bit too slow growing up. Wait, that is only an understatement. I think you are WAY to slow in growing up, and I'll tell you why," Earnest added.

Andrea only sat up and with a confused frown.

"I might as well go ahead and say it. That was not a dream but it was you in real life growing up. You really did become a volunteer that worked in the community and you really DID die in your sleep in your late 70's. You are just here because you are a ghost of your child self. In other words, you're dead now."

"No. This isn't true. It was a dream, and I know it!" Andrea insisted.

"I have proof, my dear, that you ARE a ghost. Today when you went for your usual Friday afternoon bike-ride, you parents weren't home. Yes, I know, you thought they were at work. When you came home, your parents were still not there. Neither was your brother OR any of your pets. And you know why? Because your family and friends are DEAD! And so are you, only this time, you are still on Earth because you refuse to believe that you grew up at all!" Earnest shouted out in a way that emphasized that he couldn't put the truth in any simpler form of saying.

"This can't be true! There is no such thing as ghosts so I am NOT dead!" Andrea said, sounding so sure of herself that she was right; even though she began to have a gut feeling right now that she was anything BUT right.

"That old woman in your dream really was you," Earnest said, now in a calmer tone of voice.

Andrea began crinkling her nose and tightening up her face but gave up soon after for she gave in and believed that she was dead; as a small tear trickled out of her eye and down her cheek. When Earnest got up from the couch, Andrea got up as well, and followed him out of the room.

Once again, in the isolated corridors they both walked again, in silence, with no conversation. This time, when they stopped, there stood a green door, in front of them. Earnest reached into his trouser pocket and this time, he pulled out another queer-looking key that this time, looked like triangle, and unlocked the green door. When the door was unlocked, it opened itself gradually, revealing a gleam of pure sunlight.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Earnest asked as he pointed into the room, gesturing Andrea to enter.

Andrea smiled through her tears as she looked at Earnest, then gave one last glance behind her, as if saying farewell to all things that were being left behind. She turned to face the sunlight, hesitating a bit, but then finally taking a deep breath and walked into the room and into the sunlight…

_**Well, Andrea has learned a valuable lesson, here in the Twilight Zone. She was a person that didn't want to grow up for a long, long time. But one day, everyone she knew grew up and moved on, leaving her in the dust. She thought life was sort of like a game, but she was out before she knew it. **_

_**Here, especially in the Twilight Zone, nobody gets a free ride and everybody has to go out sometime to let new players take their place. But Andrea was right in some way; you have to try and enjoy life, not to grow up too fast, and not to be afraid to be who you really are.**_


End file.
